Hotmog's Victorian Breweriana

Victorian Breweriana

Pulling Pints - Victorian style

This site is devoted to vintage British breweriana, especially that from the Victorian era. I decided to "air" my collection as there seem to be few other websites around that focus on this area, and I felt the need to add my own very small contribution to the knowledge pool, and especially to the visual imagery available on the subject.

I have photographed and described individually over 50 beer pump handles, but freely admit that I have no knowledge as to when, where, and by whom they were made. Doulton, Minton, Chelsea and Wedgwood were all probably involved in the manufacture of such items during the 19th and early 20th century, but beyond some bearing a number inscribed around the base they have no other identifying marks. If anyone is able to add any information in this regard I would be pleased to hear from them.

The Beginning

Having brewed my own beer for over 25 years, I have gradually accumulated the accoutrements and dispensing apparatus that go with it. My wife has long since become resigned to the kitchen dining area increasingly assuming both the appearance and function of a bar. It is also more than a little convenient that there is an adjoining cellar.

A number of very good books have been written that explore the development of the English pub. These offer tantalising pictorial glimpses through the portals of the Victorian tavern and alehouse; a place whose denizens could enter a world of escapism, typified by elaborate decor and brilliant cut glass mirrors, that was in stark contrast to the often meagre comforts of their own homes.

I seem to have made it my mission to salvage those forgotten items of pub furniture and bar fittings from an era that the Victorians made magnificent, and formed such a significant part of British social history, but which never seem to be represented in any museum. With the ever-accelerating trend towards the evisceration of pubs, stripping out irreplaceable features and turning them into bland, characterless, chrome and plastic "theme" bars where widescreen TV and karaoke rule and ale is anathema, I fear that soon these relics and reminders of their glory days will be lost forever, and generations to come will never know how our cultural heritage became the poorer for it.

There are a few specialist brewery museums, but these by their nature tend to concentrate on items connected with the brewing process, rather than pub history and the consumer's experience of the end product. Even in the Science Museum in London, where there is a whole area devoted to gadgets and items in everyday use from the late 19th Century to the 1970s, period pub furnishings and bar fittings are totally unrepresented. The invention and refinement of the beer engine, from the very first one patented by that prolific and diverse engineer Joseph Bramah, on May 9 1797, to the present day, merits no mention.

In my late teens back in 1970 I remember visiting with my parents a tiny pub in Tenby, right by the old castle wall, called The Bush Inn. It was run by a redoubtable Welsh dragon of a landlady by the name of Christine, a wonderful woman who stood no nonsense and had much excellent advice to offer on matters such as where to get the best "bara lawr" (laver bread). Above the bar was a small collection of old, beautifully decorated, porcelain beer pump handles. That stuck in my mind even then, for they were not of the usual "hunting scene" variety, nor the ubiquitous black ebony type with the chromed centre band that reigned supreme throughout much of the 20th century. They clearly had their origins in a time when such utilitarian items were not required to conform to a standard shape, size, and pattern. Each was unique, smaller and squatter than the 9" slimline handles that are the standard today, and had been painted by hand.

A number of brewerania collectors' societies exist; however their focus concentrates on beer ephemera: cans, bottles, labels and beer mats, and most, being based in the USA, have a heavy bias towards the American brewing tradition. I find it odd that none of these organisations' terms of reference appear to extend to my particular area of interest. Surely I cannot be the only person living for whom these items hold a particular fascination and enduring appeal? This means, too, that there are few links to reference sources to aid investigation into the manufacturing and design history of the beer engine and the pump handle, as well as ancillary barware and fixtures such as spirit fountains and urns, optics, mirrors and advertising ware.

My Collection

Like any collector, it is not so much the possession of the items themselves, but the sharing of their knowledge so that other like-minded people can appreciate them also, that gives the greater satisfaction. So here is my modest (but ever so slowly growing) collection of Victorian and vintage early 20th century beer engines and beer pump handles.

In the photo at the top of this web page can be seen a number of pump handles, together with a rare Victorian "cash-register" design 2-motion beer engine by J Warner & Sons in mahogany, with ebony and ivory handles. Next to it is a Gaskell & Chambers chrome plated brass counter pump dating from the turn of the 19th century, together with two brass pillar counter pumps - the middle one being of similar vintage (manufacturer unknown), the other somewhat earlier, again by J Warner & Sons. Further pictures are shown below.

Click here, for a complete photographic catalogue of my collection of Victorian and vintage beer pump handles.

Worcester City Museum has a miniature model 4-motion beer engine made by William Stokoe c1900 as an apprentice piece,
and is believed to be unique. The image, shown below, is reproduced from their website:
www.worcestercitymuseums.org.uk/coll/object/oldobj6/obijn0.htm

Copyright Worcester City Museums

It is very similar in design to the Victorian beer engine I have:

Close-up of the brass plaque on my Victorian beer engine

The Crescent, off Jewin Street, no longer exists. The area suffered heavy bombing during the Blitz, and in the post-war redevelopment that followed the Barbican Centre was built on the site where it once stood.

I am not sure of the beer engine's exact age, but suspect it dates from the mid to late 19th century. The only similar example
I've ever seen is a 4-motion version in the George Inn, Borough High St, London SE1, which I remember being used to serve
me several pints of Bass back in the mid-1970s. It has a mahogany casing with a mirrored backplate bearing the name "SOUTH, Blackfriars Rd", ebony and ivory-topped handles, and pewter spouts. Although no longer in use, the engine is still visible at the back of the small servery. This "cash register" design seems to have altered little during the course of the 19th century from that of the earliest beer engines - see below.

Diagram of an 1808 Beer Engine

This is the earliest illustrated example of a beer engine I have seen. It is an engraving taken from "Pantologia - A New Cyclopedia" by John Mason Good & Olinthus Gilbert Gregory, published in London, 1813 (although this plate is dated August 1st 1808).

It is probably very similar to - or may even be - the original design that Joseph Bramah patented in 1797.

One thing about this diagram puzzles me - there are four pump-handles, but only three taps above the sink on the left-hand side to which all of the pipes appear to lead. I am intrigued as to the whereabouts of the fourth!

Another Victorian beer engine - restoration project

When the Eagle Inn at Skerne, near Driffield in East Yorkshire sadly called time for good in 2003 upon the retirement of its landlord, Roy Edmond, the pub's Victorian 3-motion beer engine that had remained in use right up until the pub's closure was removed by Roy's daughter and son-in-law, Sue and Norman Harris. Since then it has been stored in their garage, but with the passage of time its condition had understandably but unfortunately deteriorated. At the end of August 2007 I was contacted by
Sue and Norman, who very kindly offered to donate the beer engine to me for nothing if I would be interested in giving it a
good home.

This exceptionally generous offer was one I simply could not refuse. Norman even drove down from Yorkshire to Surrey to
deliver the beer engine to me personally. Sue and Norman, you are stars - I am exceedingly indebted and grateful to you both.

These are the photos I was sent of the beer engine in Sue and Norman's garage:

Victorian beer engine two